1973 Chevrolet Cheyenne - Alabama Big-Block

Believe it or not, the photos shown here are of how Chuck Gober’s ’73 Chevy Cheyenne Super looked before he got a chance to tear into it. When we approached Chuck at the Brothers Trucks 2011 show about featuring his truck in an upcoming issue of CCT, he was a little reluctant. He didn’t think his ’73 C10 was good enough to be featured in a magazine before he’d done all the things he had wanted to do it. That said, we figured there was a lot of you guys out there that might think this truck is perfect the way it is—uh, make that was.

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The saga of Chuck and square-body C10 Chevrolets goes back more than 20 years when he bought his first shortbed. Since that time, in his search for the perfect specimen, Chuck has owned more than 20 square-bodies. He came across the ’73 Cheyenne Super gracing these pages in Anniston, Alabama, where the truck was purchased brand new. Its previous owner never used the Chevy as a truck, instead he chose to enter it in shows. In 1992 back when its red paintjob was still fresh and all of the trim pieces were replaced with NOS parts, the truck took Best of Show at the Birmingham, Alabama, World of Wheels. It’s just amazing how well the paint has held up during the past two decades. So well, that Chuck’s only plans for the ’73s exterior is to put the original Cheyenne Super side moldings back on, and two-tone it in ivory white.

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On the inside of the cab where the gray tweed lives, Chuck plans on doing a full-on high buck leather interior with a new assortment of billet gauges. In the ’73s absolutely scratch and dent-free bed, a pair of mini-tubs that echo the appearance of stock will be fitted. The idea is to clear some big, fat 20-inch Toyos mounted on Boyds Junkyard Dogs when the truck is layed out on air. For rear brakes the existing F-44 drums (an F-44 package was mandatory for 454-equipped C10s) will be replaced with Wilwood 14-inch disc brakes. Up front is where Chuck is really kicking out the jams, and plans on installing a pair of Chris Alston’s 16-inch G-street disc brakes that utilize Wilwood six-piston calipers. For rear suspension the lowered heavy-Chevy parallel leaf setup pictured is getting replaced with a tubular trailing arm arrangement sprung with bags. In keeping with the edginess of its over-the-top front brakes, the stock crossmember will be pitched in favor of a Porterbuilt dropmember available through Alston’s KP Components. The logic behind installing a dropmember is the truck will lay hard and make routing the exhaust system possible so that it won’t get crushed. As seen here, it’s sitting on 2½-inch drop spindles with drop coils.

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Under the hood still lies the ’73s original 454. Early on Chuck installed an Edelbrock dual-quad setup that will remain. The current RV grind hydraulic cam is going to be replaced with stud girdles, a roller cam, and roller rockers. This will pick up a few extra ponies, and decrease the need for zinc in the engine oil. The original TH400 was retrofitted with a 2000-stall converter and might be taking a vacation in Akron, Ohio, where the guys at Gearstar will give it a good going through.

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The challenge is on; Chuck says he’s really going to try his best to debut the truck at Brothers’ 2012 Show & Shine. We hope he does, and here’s notice for anyone planning on entering the Square-body class: there’s going to be some tough competition and more great square-bodies present than ever before. CCT